THE FIRST 5 ULVER RELEASES

Did a post on Vargnatt, Bergtatt and Kveldssanger over at my Instagram account about exactly one year ago. Immediately began writing about the 2 albums released after them but after MANY re-writings later I post this.

Also took the pictures when I had my crappy iPhone 6S and me being to lazy to reshoot them with my new iPhone the quality isn't on par with my latest photos. Anyway finally... 

This very unique Norwegian Black Metal band that I nowadays wouldn't call Black Metal anymore but we'll get to that. First out their demo Vargnatt (1993).

The very first time I ever heard Ulver was on the Norwegian TV-show/documentary Det Svarte Alvor from 1994 that I had bought or traded on VHS in 1996. Something I did for bootleg filmed concerts by Dissection, Marduk, Emperor, Dismember and many more.

In Det Svarte Alvor the song Ulverrytternes Kamp by Ulver was featured and it blew me away. It’s still my favorite song by them.

The version I got is the brown leather book CD reissue of their 1993 demo Vargnatt from 2009 done by the amazing label Kyrck Productions.

Wasn’t actually until around 1999/00 (?) that I finally heard Vargnatt. On MP3 though... A rare occasion for me back then and now to download music to listen too.

But that was the only way that I could hear the demo back then and I'm glad I did it. Wasn't into computers at all during this time and my skills weren't good.

The 6-song and 28 min demo almost feels like a debut album because of the high quality of the songs and production. It starts out great with Her Begynner Mine Arr... and continues with the equally great Tragediens Trone.

Then the beautiful instrumental song Trollskogen brilliant performance on acoustic guitar by Haavard aka. Håvard Jørgensen. Continuing with Ulverrytternes Kamp already wrote it being my favorite Ulver song of all time.

Nattens Madrigal is the next song and it's better then that entire album with the same name but I'm getting ahead of myself. The title track Vargnatt ends the demo and what a great release this was.

Vocalist Kris R. as Garm calls himself on the original demo tape was 17 years old when this was released. He is my favorite vocalist from Norway of all time and on the demo his voice hasn't yet been perfected. But still an amazing debut performance by him I can hear why Arcturus recruited him in 1993.

Also worth mentioning is that Carl-Michael Eide (Aura Noir, Ved Buens Ende etc.) plays drums on Vargnatt the man of many talents and aliases here he's called C. Michael.

It's not mandatory to start with the demo if you're unfamiliar with Ulver but something tells me if you found this blog you are already familiar with the band and Black Metal. However if you like the 2 first Ulver records it's mandatory to have this fine demo release it's one of my personal favorite demos from Norway.

The demo was first reissued in 2003 on a 10" vinyl i released by Infinite Vinyl Series (company associated with The End Records). That 10" goes for around 50-60 € now.

The demo is included in their now really expensive vinyl compilation boxset Trolsk Sortmetall 1993–1997 that was released in limited quantities in 3 different vinyl versions in 2014 really wish to own that box someday.

The box was also released on CD but if you want a standalone release of Vargnatt I recommend any of the 3 CD releases done by Kyrck Productions.

Finding Ulver CD’s in my Swedish hometown was not happening in 1996 so in the summer of 1997 on a trip to Stockholm I finally bought their debut Bergtatt - Et Eeventyr i 5 Capitler at Sound Pollution.

Released by Metalion the legendary founder of Slayer Magazine owned record company Head Not Found. At first it was a bit disappointing because I expected Ulverrytternes Kamp to be on it. I didn’t have any idea what songs was on the album.

It took a few listens before I realized that the whole album was amazing and not just the song Soelen Gaaer Bag Aase Need. The opening I Troldskog Faren Vild is just as good as the one I just mentioned.

Kristoffer Rygg now known as Garm shows already on the first song how much he has developed his vocals skills from the demo.

The music is a combination of the 2nd wave of Norwegian Black Metal scene combined with acoustic guitar parts. Also with some flute, piano passages and different sound effects added gives a very unique atmosphere to the music.

It might only be 5 songs in 34 min but it's perfect it doesn't need to be any longer or shorter for that matter.

The 3rd song Graablick Blev Hun Vaer is also amazing and so is Een Stemme Locker a slower acoustic. Where Ulver  has the female vocalist Lill Kathrine Stensrud which adds much to the song.

She also played the flute and appears on Written In Waters (1995) by Ved Buens Ende.

On Bergtatt Ulver have Steinar "Sverd" Johnsen from one of my favorite bands from Norway ever Arcturus play piano. A band Garm was vocalist in from 1993 to 2003, he recorded 3 albums and one EP with them.

The last song Bergtatt - Ind I Fjeldkamrene continues in the same vein as the rest of the record and that concludes the album. I've never heard anything quite like it ever again. An absolute must have record in any collection!

Not long after I had purchased their debut I ordered the follow-up Kveldssanger (1996) on CD from Sound Pollution. Also released by Head Not Found and I immediately liked it even if it's way different from their debut no electric guitars or traditional Black Metal elements on this one.

Just acoustic guitar sometimes flute, cello occasional drums but what stands out most is the vocal performance by Garm but it's the whole combination what's makes it brilliant.

There's so many good songs of the 13 in 35 min like Østenfor Sol Og Vestenfor Maane; Nattleite; Høyfjeldsbilde; Hiertets Vee; Utreise and Ulvsblakk just to name a few. But my absolute favorite is problably Kledt I Nattens Farger. 

I've always had a hard time to figure out which one of these 3 is my favorite Ulver release. They are almost a perfect trilogy that's related to each other and I wouldn't want to exclude any of them.

Of course I have a special bond to Bergtatt because it was the first Ulver album I ever heard and bought. It's not always necessary to have a favorite and just enjoy the music.

Many might not think of Kveldssanger as a Black Metal record at all but to me it just show how broad the genre is especially the one in the Norwegian scene.

I'm Swedish but in the 90's I had much more records from the Norwegian Black Metal scene then the Swedish. There was I distinct different feeling of the two back then and now also.

I mean many band from Norway said in interviews that they were inspired just not by the Heavy Metal scene but bands like Depeche Mode.

Take for instance Varg Vikernes his favorite album ever was done by The Cure. Something like that would never been said in the Swedish scene in the 90's.

Even if Jon Nödtveidt from Dissection has said that Northern Progressive rock music from bands like Änglagård, Landberk and Anekdoten were among his favorites. Remember when I read that he and Ole Öhman (?) visited the Pink Floyd show in Gothenburg in 1994 and thinking "damn I need to listen to these bands" which I did later and many were amazing. But now I'm getting off topic..

And now for what I consider to be a big disappointment Nattens Madrigal - Atte Hymne Til Ulven I Manden from 1997.

I cannot remember how I got this promo CD. Maybe I bought it at a record fair in my hometown, when I renewed a magazine subscription or found it at the record store that sold 2nd hand CD's & LP's.

Owned this promo CD of the Nattens Madrigal album for 22 years now. I try to understand why it’s praised as some kind of masterpiece nowadays?

Don't remember anyone talking highly about this one or being some innovative album back in 1997.

I will give them credit for not doing Bergtatt del II and understand what they were going for.

But if I want to hear raw primitive Black Metal album I much rather listen to the amazing Under A Funeral Moon (1993) by Darkthrone instead.

Ulver does 8 songs in 44 min but it feels like 88 min. It gets old very fast because of the average songs and boring sound.

If they instead had made a 3 or 4-song EP of the best material and sorted out the worst parts I think it could’ve been an amazing release.

I definitely miss the clean vocals by Garm when listening to this record even if he still does a solid job with the vocals. Not knocking anyone's performance on the album. The problem is the songwriting and the boring production/sound according to me.

Wolf & Fear; Wolf & Hatred and Wolf & The Night all have brilliant qualities and I do enjoy listening to them. However the other songs are just average at best.

Wolf & Passion might have one of the worst opening riffs done by any "bigger band" ever in the Black Metal scene. It sounds like something that the very popular Swedish alternative rock band Kent would've written in 1995.

It was the first and only Ulver album to be released on Century Media. I don't know the full story why they parted ways after only just one album, reissues not included.

It sounds as if Ulver wanted to make a statement with this album. While being signed to a "big label" in the extreme Metal scene.

To me it feels like they rushed out the album to soon without thinking it through.

But then again lots of people seem to enjoy this album. I might find out someday I was wrong all along but it's not like I haven't tried because believe me I truly have. For 22 years... That's a long time and probably much longer then some of my Instagram followers have even lived.

If you enjoy the Nattens Madrigal album good for you and I’m happy for you but it’s not a record for me.

Now for the last full length album by Ulver in the 90's. The one with a ridiculously long title Themes From William Blake’s The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (1998).

It was released 18 months after the Nattens Madrigal album on 2 CD’s with 19 songs. Approx 80 minutes of music (+ 20 min silence before the hidden ending) there's a lot of music to process.

They delivers a couple of amazing songs but also terrible ones. While not being a total disaster, it's not an amazing experience either. It doesn’t sound anything like the previous Ulver albums.

I don't necessarily see a problem with the band progressing into something else. In fact if they after Nattens Madrigal had gone back to the Black/Folk Metal feeling on their earlier albums that would've felt strange.

Even if the song Plates 5-6 has parts that sounds like something from the Kveldssanger record but with recitation and lots of effect added.

It's very hard to try and label the Themes From William Blake’s The Marriage of Heaven and Hell album. They have so MANY different influences...

Way too easy just labeling the album as Avantgarde music. It has Electronic, Progressive and Trip-Hop influences. Sometimes I would call this Ulver goes Nine Inch Nails less commercial though.

They have a female vocalist "Her" (Stine Grytøyr) on many songs and some guy called Falch doing "vinyl scratching".

Many of the songs have a lot of effects or Trip-Hop beats sometimes "draining" the music that otherwise could have be great.

Tore Ylwizaker (programming, later also keyboard) joined Ulver for this record and has been a member ever since. Garm and him continued the band after the departure of longtime guitarist Haavard (Håvard Jørgensen) I think Ulver lost a lot of their "soul" without him.

This album also became both members since 1994 bassist Skoll (Hugh Stephen James Mingay) and drummer Erik Lancelot last album with Ulver.

Do think Garm is a musical genius. But I think the working relationship between him and those guys made Ulver standout in a already overpopulated Norwegian Black Metal scene in the mid 90's.

Garm, sorry Trickster-G, as he is known here produced and engineered The Marriage of Heaven and Hell with new member Tore Ylwizaker also co-producing, mixing and engineering.

Another co-producer of this album and also guest appearance by Arcturus genius guitarist Knut Magne Valle on "cables, wires & various sound contributions". I do believe he play some guitar on this record though.

Musicians that doesn't need any introduction Ihsahn, Samoth and Fenriz also gets credited for recitation on the album.

Not going to analyse the lyrical theme of this record. Simply because I'm not familiar enough with the English poet William Blake (1757 - 1827) writings or the book The Marriage of Heaven and Hell.

If I was to recommend some of my tracks on the album in chronological order:
The Argument Plate 2
Plates 5-6
Proverbs of Hell Plates 7-10
Intro (song 2 on CD-2 there are 3 different songs called Intro)
Plates 21-22
Intro (song 5 on CD-2)
A Memorable Fancy Plates 22-24

Don't expect to be completely blown away with those songs immediately though. They demands a lot of attention from the one listening to them fully appreciate those.

The musicians Haavard, Skoll and Erik Lancelot does a great job. Garm’s vocals are as always very unique and great whenever they are more "traditional" without all those effects added.

When I’m in the right mood I might give this album 3 listens a  year.

As with Nattens Madrigal they should’ve selected the best parts for 9 or 10 songs on 1 CD then it would be better experience.

Since this record Ulver have been hit or miss in my opinion. Some great releases and songs but whenever they go too much into effect overdose mode it's not good.

In my opinion the following Perdition City (2000) better then The Marriage of Heaven and Hell even if that one is far from perfect. But more about other records in another post.

I do highly respect that Ulver don’t give a fuck what fans or other people think about them and just go their own way on their own terms.